Combined hassock and sleeping-support.



PATENTED JULY 14, 1903.

0. c. TAYLOR. COMBINED HASSOGK AND SLEEPING SUPPORT.

' APPLICATION FILED DEC. 6, 1902.

N0 MODEL.

Fig 1.

WITNESSES.

1 Q. A TTORNE).

lilo. 733,768.

UNITED STATES Patented July 14, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

OARLETON O. TAYLOR, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letterslatent No. 733,768, dated July 14, 1903.

Application filed December ,6, 1902. Serial No. 134,217. (No modeli) To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CARLETON C.-TAYLOR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Denver, in the county of Arapahoe and State of Colorado, have invented. a new and useful Improvement in a Combined Hassock and Sleeping-Support, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to a combined hassock and sleeping-support, and is intended to be an article to be carried by travelers upon railway-trains, boats, 850., as an article of general utility. Its objects are, first, to provide a hassock or footstool which shall be pro vided with a means of support at a suitable height to be used as a seat; second, to provide a hassock capable "of beingsupported at a suitable height to be placed between carseats and form an extension to the seat-surface adapted to be lain upon by the passenger, and, third, to provide a hassock which in addition to being capable of use as a footstool and rest to sleep upon may also be capable of being used as a valise or receptacle to carry wearing-apparel or other articles in.

The above objects are accomplished by means of the construction and mechanism illustrated in the accompanying-drawings, in which- 1 Figure 1 is a sectional elevation through the hassock and one of the forms of its supports, the same being on line X X of Fig. 3 and as seen from the top therein. Fig. 2 is a central sectional elevation of the hassock with the floor supports removed and the swinging supports closed. Of the sliding supports one is shown as extended in this view. Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the hassock with the floor-supports folded and placed therein and one of each of the other forms of support shown in its extended positions. One of the sockets for the floor-supports is removed to better show the contiguous parts.

Fig. 3. .4 as folded in position to be packed away in in detail the elastic retaining means for the floor-supports.

Similar characters designate like parts in the several views.

The hassock will be designated in a general way by A, and dim three different types of support shown the floor-support is intended to sustain the hassock at a suitable height to sit upon, supporting the same independently of any other supporting means, and is in the form of an X-shaped support capable of being separated from the hassock. Two of the supports are used, one at each end. This support consists of two similar bars B, pivoted together at or near their center, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, also by an edge view on The support is shown in Figs. 3 and the hassock from corner to corner, and the same is opened from its folded position by moving the lower ends of the bars B relatively to each other in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 4, whereupon the support will be opened to a position shown'by full lines in Fig. 1, and the floor-line corresponding with this position will be the line V. In case it is desired to support the hassock A at a less height than is represented by the full lines of the support in Fig. 1, either for convenience in sitting upon the hassock or to maintain thesame on a level vwith lower carseats, between which it may be placed, the bars.

that indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1, whereupon the support when placed in the sockets of the hassock will attain a position represented by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, and the floor-line will now be the line W. The height of the hassock is therefore adjusted by the difference between lines V and W substantially without adjusting means other than merely opening the barsB of 'the'support in either one of two directions. Each end of the hassock is provided with two socket-plates l and 2, which are made with slanting sockets extending to the bottom of the hassock and inclining outward toward the top for the reception of the upper ends of the bars B. The

rivet or bolt '3, which pivotally secures t0-' gether the bars B,-is intended to impinge the bars together sufficiently to tend to maintain them in whatever relative position they may be left. This floor-support, therefore, when inserted in the inclined sockets 1 and 2 will not fall out as the hassock is lifted because of the impingement of the rivet 3, as the bars B have to be closed together somewhat in being withdrawn from the sockets. In order to further insure the retaining of the floor-supports in place in the sockets 1 and 2, a cylindrical piece of rubber is preferably set into the wooden end of the hassock in a suitable position to impinge against the outer side of the bars B of the floor-supports to frictionally engage the said bars and aid in retaining them in the sockets. Fig. 7 is a sectional View showing the cylindrical friction-piece 4E, and its location is shown in Fig. 1 by dotted lines. The upper corners of the bars B are preferably slightly beveled to wedge back the end of rubber 4 as the bars enter the sockets. The sockets are secured to the ends of the hassock in any desired manner, as by means of the screws shown.

A11 alternative means of support of the hassock A when the same is used between carseats to recline upon consists of sliding bars 0, inserted in suitable grooves in the end pieces of the hassock and capable of sliding out or being extended at the sides of the hassock, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The location of the bars 0 is preferably about four or five inches from the top of the hassock that the bars may extend beneath the car-seat proper and rest upon the seat-supporting frame of the car, the seat beinglifted slightly to make room for the bars. The bars C are held in place in the grooves of the end pieces of the hassock by means of a thin plate 5, secured to the interior side of the end pieces. The bars 0 are preferably provided each with a pin 6, by means of which they may he slid out and in, the same working in the slots 7 of the plate 5. The bars 0 are made capable of extending several inches out from the sides of the hassock, for the reason that the distances between car-seats varies and may be only about sufficient for the width of the hassock between them, or it may be sufficient for the width of the hassock and a couple of inches of space at each side thereof. Four of the bars 0 are used, one pair sliding in opposite directions being placed at each end.

Another alternate means of supporting the hassock when used as a reclining-rest between car-seats consists of swinging blades or plates at the sides of the hassock, the same being suitable when extended to rest directly upon the surface of the cushions of the car-seats and support the hassock as a reclining-rest thereby. These swinging supports are shown in Fig. 1 in two forms. At the left-hand side a wooden plate D, which extends nearly the whole length of the hassock, as shown in Fig. 3, has secured to it at its ends metal pieces 8 and 9, which are pivoted in the top board E of the hassock-frame upon the pins 10. The projecting arm 11 of these metal pieces 8 and 9 engages a hook-stop 12, which is secured to the end piece of the hassock by screws, as shown in Fig. 1, a top View of this hook-piece being shown in Fig. 6. The wooden plateD is preferably provided with an upholstered cushion 13, and the top board of the hassock E has a similar cushion 13 in order to present a softer reclining-rest for the passenger.

At the right side of Figs. 1 and 3 are shown separate folding corner-plates F as a modification of the form shown in the left side of these figures. The plates F are preferably formed integral with the hinge and stop portious of the same and are pivoted upon pins 14 in a manner similar to the supports of plate I). The plates F also have extensions 15, which engage hook-stops 12. These plates F are intended to rest directly upon the cushions of the car-seats to sustain the hassock as a reclining-rest and are preferably provided with square holes 16, through which the bars 0 may he slid when it is desired to use them in preference to the swinging supports. In Fig. 1 the top board E is shown as having recesses near its ends for the extensions 11 and 15 when the swinging supports are folded down to the sides of the hassock.

In case of using the plate-supports F the hassock will be formed with suitable side pieces of wood 17. In case of using the folding support consisting of plate D the same may constitute the side of the hassock. The portion of the metal pieces 7 and 8 which is secured to the plate D is preferably L-shaped, as shown in section in Fig. 5. In Fig. 2 a portion of the plate 5 is shown broken away to more clearly show the slide 0 and hook 12.

At the upper side of Fig. 3 heavy lines indicate the position of the hinged bottom G, which is intended to close the under side of the hassock to inclose within the same wearing-apparel or other articles. This hinged bottom may be secured in its closed position in any desirable manner, as by a hook or latch. (Not shown.) A suitable handle, as H, is preferably secured to one side of the hassock, by means of which it may be carried.

In packing away the floor-supports within the hassock it is intended that the two pairs of supports when folded will be placed edge to edge above one another in the same diagonal position in the hassock, leaving room at each side thereof for the placing of other articles. The three types of support shown herein, while not absolutely necessary to be all placed on one and the same hassock, are capable of being so placed thereon, and there is utility in having all the forms, as when the person is traveling and is an invalid the X- form or floor-support enables them to make the hassock into a temporary seat. When using as a reclining-rest, it may be impossible to raise the car-seat to use the sliding form of support embodying bars 0 and the swinging form of support or the X form may be used instead. In case of the car-seats being three or four inches farther apart than the width of the hassock when folded it will be ports embodying plate D to form an extension of the reclining-surface from the hassock top to the seat at one side, although the bars 0 or the floor-support may at the time be the supporting means used.

The crossed bars B sustain the hassock at different heights when reversed, because of the fact that the pivot 3, by means of which the bars are secured together, is located some distance to one side of a center line from one end to the opposite end of each bar, and the directions of this offset for the two bars are opposite. I

I claim- 1. The combination with a hassock, of swinging side supports therefor pivotally secured to the frame of said hassock, to form an extensible support from seat to seat of a car, the said seats being separated'varying distances.

2. The combination with a hassock, of swinging side supports therefor, pivotally secured to the frame of said hassock, and limitstops for said swinging supports.

3. In a hassock provided with bottomlyopening sockets the interior of which is rectangular in one direction and in an approximate right-angular direction is flared inward from the side to which it is adjacent, of pivoted cross-bars, oblong and rectangular in cross-section at one end suitably to be fitted in said sockets as a means of support therefor, the other ends of said cross-bars being beveled from either narrow edge whereby to attain adjustment in height of said hassock, substantially as described.

4. In a hassock provided with bottomlyopening sockets the interior of each of which is rectangular in one direction and in an approximate right-angular direction is flared inward from the side nearest to which it is adjacent, of pivoted cross-bars which are oblong and rectangular in cross-section, adapted to be fitted in said sockets as a means of support therefor, the ends of said cross-bars being beveled from either narrow edge whereby to attain adjustment in height of said hassock, and swinging side extensions of the surface of the said hassock as a recliningrest, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with a hassock as a reclining-rest, of a separable floor support therefor, crossed bars pivoted together at a point off the center line thereof, and means on the hassock for engaging the cross-bars to support the said hassock at different heights.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature hereto, at Denver, Colorado, this 1st day of December, 1902, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GARLETON C. TAYLOR. [L. s.]'

Witnesses:

HARPER M. ORCHARD, WALTER E. CRANE. 

